Putting the Boxes Away

This week was our first "real" week. Last week felt like a vacation. Derek hadn't started class/work yet, we were still exploring our new city, and we were still living out of the same suitcases that we left D.C. with. Today we are breaking down 8 boxes of our personal goods that finally made its way to Singapore. We are finally settling in...

School started for Derek this past Monday. Dewi and I said goodbye to Derek in the morn, and...stared at each other. Not that I hadn't spent any time with Dewi at home by myself before, but those days were usually limited to the Fridays that I had off from work (since I worked an 80% schedule after the Wi was born), or when Dewi was sick and had to stay home from the nanny-share. This time it was different. It was the start of me and Dewi during the weekdays until I can find a job. Since Dewi naps about twice a day, there was only so much trekking around town that we could do. We had to make our trips somewhat short and sweet. Plus, I am still getting used to the idea of transporting her on the buses by myself with all her gear (any possible combination of stroller, ergo, and diaper bag). Though Singapore's public transportation system is awesome and most of the city is stroller friendly, there have been times when Derek and I stare at escalators or stairs with no elevators (or lifts as they like to call them here) or ramps in sight.

Usually on Dewi Fridays in D.C.., Wi and I would go on playdates or meet up with friends for lunch. Since we barely know anyone here, let alone ones with kids her age- we had to create our own itinerary.

So we came up with a couple of activities:

1. Stroll through PGP- Our on-campus apartment complex is quite big with many buildings (a.k.a. blocks) a mini-mart, and three food joints (2 with A.C.- thanks be to God). To traverse from our building to the other end of PGP and back, then behind the building and back, that occupies about 20 minutes. It's decent exercise for me, and Wi loves staring at people and trying to get them to smile at her back. If she doesn't get a response, she starts babbling at them, so most of the time she gets a response. Wi also loves the fountain behind the buildings. It makes her giggle.

2. Meet Derek for lunch on campus- The internal shuttle bus at NUS is quite awesome. It comes pretty frequently and takes you all over campus. The terminal is right in front of our apartment complex. There are also close to 37,000 students who go to NUS (most are at this campus), so sometimes the shuttles get a little crowded. Once in awhile, the students are nice enough to give up their seats for us. This rarely happens on the MRT, by the way. People just pretend they're asleep when they see us with the baby. Our favorite on campus food source so far is the Yusof Ishak House. There are food courts all over campus but the YIH is awesome because it is partially air-conditioned, and it has awesome and cheap food. My favorite find the other day was a refreshing es kacang. On a hot hot day, the es kacang is a wonderful treat to enjoy. Goodbye skinny cows and yogenfruz. Hello, shaven iced drinks with artificial fruits and beans.

3. Visit potential daycares- It really doesn't feel like that long ago that Derek and I toured the many federal government daycares in D.C. At the time we had no idea that we would be moving to Singapore. So, three months before Wi's due date, Derek and I visited a couple of them: Department of Labor's, IDB's, GAO's, FERC's, the list goes on and on...now, about a year later, we are looking at daycares again. I figure that since I'm currently not working and have the free time, we should start looking at our options now. Especially since in D.C. the waiting lists for daycares are anywhere from 1-2 years, or so they say. I had no clue whether it was the same situation here. First, Wi and I went to the daycare that's right on NUS's campus. We walked in and both fell in love. Wi's eyes got even bigger than they already are as she stared fondly at the kids and all the fun activities they got to do. I was pleased to hear that that daycare did not have a ridiculous waiting list. The second daycare that we visited did not give me a good feeling at all. First, the Center Director wasn't even there for our appointment (even though it was she who suggested the time and date) and didn't tell any of her staff that we were coming for a tour. Second, there were kids and babies screaming and crying in every corner, and caregivers who seemed like they could give two shits about all the hoopla. I threw away the brochures as soon as we exited the building.

4. Buy baby stuff- On Friday, Wi and I braved the buses and headed out on our first off-campus outing without Derek. We had no choice as we had run out of her formula. I strapped her in the ergo and off we went, back to West Coast Plaza, where I knew we could find a grocery store. The trip there and back was so easy. Because I had found this ninja route behind our apartment buildings to a pretty good bus thoroughfare, all we had to do was take one public bus to get to the mall. It took us no time at all, and we took the free mall shuttle bus straight to campus on the way back. Lovely! Pretty sure we'll grocery shop there often. Speaking of grocery shopping, what's up with the disposable underwear that they sell at the stores? I saw it at both Cold Storage and at 7-11. I don't get it.

There were other random things that happened this week, like Derek's email from NUS about the pandemic flu temperature-taking exercise, but I'll let him write about that one. Now off to stream Modern Family.